


the happiest.

by bhubblemilk



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 07:31:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18139247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bhubblemilk/pseuds/bhubblemilk
Summary: Jisung was your soulmate, and you lied to him about it. but of course, like most stories, your lie doesn’t get to last long.





	the happiest.

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: long, my writing deteriorating at the end, kind of dialogue heavy.

It took you a moment to register Jisung's face, and another moment to process what he had just uttered out of his mouth.

The exact line that the universe had etched onto your under forearm, the words that it chose for your soulmate to tell you for the very first time, the very words you had carved so deep into your head just to make sure you would recognize it whenever and wherever they were spoken to you so you could kick your soulmate's ass when time comes.

"Tell me, baby, you're the happiest when you're with me, right?"

The line was long and cringey at best, and Han Jisung had said it to you. You went as far to turn around to check and make sure no one else was sitting anywhere within a five-centimeter radius of you, to make sure that the universe hadn't made a mistake and put an identical soul-mark on someone who would appear to have more potential to be Jisung's soulmate than you.

Your heart did a little leap when you realized, as usual, you were alone in the cafeteria corner, with a home-made sandwich in your hands and a half-empty carton of apple juice on the tray. And that only meant one thing.

Han Jisung, the multi-talented boy—without the gift of academic, unfortunately—with a smile so wide, a voice so soulful, and a heart so pure, is undoubtedly your soulmate.

And you weren't sure how you felt about that.

There was a mixture of emotions and thoughts that flashed before your eyes the moment you turned your head to face him. The way he had smirked at you definitely made your cheeks heat up more than you wanted them to, and for a moment you felt a sense of congratulatory feeling sparking within the depths of your head, a sense of pride that your soulmate happened to be someone so brilliant.

But then you thought about yourself. Your dull, lost self that never seemed to be going anywhere amazing in life. Compared to all the dazzling people in Jisung's group of friends, all ambitious and confidently attractive; Compared to Jisung who was undoubtedly extremely positive and motivated.

You didn't believe your shadowy self deserves a place in Jisung's shining path to his bright future. You didn't think you deserve a spot in his life, not to mention the important status of being his soulmate. And quite frankly, you thought it would bring only humiliation to him and degradation to yourself.

Alright, you were in fact, sure of how you felt about this.

You were glad that Jisung was your soulmate, but you were going to keep that to yourself. Nobody needs to know about that. Jisung doesn't have to know about that.

Your plan was to let the flowery feeling inflict only your emotions and let your pessimistic side guide your actions.

Surely, it would be unfair to Jisung that he has to grow old being a man who never found his soulmate. But at least he knew he had one, and he could keep the benefit of the doubt that his soulmate is doing amazing things somewhere else in the world, not the gloomy and doomy (Name) who sits alone in the cafeteria every day.

Jisung tilted his head to the side upon your lack of response. And when you did reply to him, he wasn't able to hear you through the crowded cafeteria and the fact that you had purposefully dialed your volume down to an inaudible level.

He leaned in a little closer, "What did you say?"

You inwardly breathed out a sigh of relief. Your plan was going just the way you wanted. Keeping a straight face, you spoke a little bit louder this time, "I said why the fuck did you ask me that."

Jisung's expression did not dim one bit upon your harsh words. Instead, his smile widened and he sat down on the bench across you, "Jiae dared me to say it to you. She said you would curse at me and guess what? She was right!"

You rolled your eyes, "Truth or dare? How old are you guys, nine?"

"Hey, you're never too old to play games like those!" Jisung said defensively, his mouth forming a small pout as he waved his arm lightly by his side.

And he was adorable. Jisung had always been a charming boy, you knew, you simply never took the time to truly look at his face and appreciate how wondrously chubby his cheeks really were and how sun-kissed his smile was. All that crumbled up together with a set of high-quality personality traits? Needless to say, Jisung was one of a kind.

And you of all people, with a soul bounded to his, would be impacted by it the most.

You laughed, making sure the noise from the back of your throat came out sarcastic enough, "You can be too old to learn to access situations and notice that some people just don't want to talk to you, though, but don't worry, you're still young. You can start now, from me!"

Jisung leaned back a little, his brows finally furrowing ever so slightly in mild dismay. He has met hostile people before, people far worse than you. It wasn't the fact that you had acted so distantly that made him click his tongue, but the fact that you were a friend. Not to him (yet) but a close friend of Jiae, the chirpy and sweet Jiae who now sits with his circle of friends.

His expectation of you was, sadly to say, a bit higher. ****

Now, Jisung was never one to judge, he believes in the phrase: everyone is going through something you don't know about, and he will always choose to keep the negative thoughts to himself. However, when Jiae mentioned you being her best friend back in middle school until now, he had really thought you would be... maybe a tad bit more positive like Jiae was.

That wouldn't stop him from doing what he wanted to do, though. With a soft sigh, Jisung looked behind his shoulder at his table of friends before turning back to you, ignoring the expression of complete boredom you were showing him.  

"Actually, I have a favor to ask."

You raised an eyebrow, decently intrigued, "What is it?"

"You know prom is coming up, right, right after finals?"

"No, Jisung, thank you so much for telling me this brand new piece of information," you mumbled, taking a sip of your apple juice.

Jisung sucked in a deep breath, willing himself to smile through your consistent sardonic remark. "Anyway, I wanted to ask Jiae to prom but I–" His voice trailed off when you held up your hand to stop him.

He waited curiously as you turned your head to the side to finish off your drink, crushing the carton box in your hand and throwing it back onto the trade. Your pursed lips brushed against each other as you held back a loud breath.

"Let me guess," you started then, looking away with a knowing look before turning back to him, "You want me to help you ask her to prom because you don't know what to do and what she likes, and because she claims that I am her best friend. You think I would be a very good candidate for your little prom proposal project, don't you?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Jisung replied after a moment, "Was that predictable?"

"Yes, but when ten out of ten people who approach you are asking for a favor, you kind of catch on to the pattern, so don't blame yourself too much," you shrugged, "And the answer is no, I can't help you."

"You can't help me or you won't help me?" Jisung asked, only then realizing he was probably coming off a little rude.

But so were you, so this was even.

You let out a small breath of disbelief, but secretly you were heaving out little airs of panic and ease. Panic that Jisung seemed to find you disheartening as much as the next person and relief because, at this point, he would never find out about the soul-mark. Give it a few weeks, he would forget about this particular conversation and you could go about your merry way without any worry of him finding out.

"I can't, Jisung. Jiae changed a lot since middle school, and we aren't friends anymore," you said, "I don't know what she likes. You are better off asking her two friends over there."

Jisung grumbled a little. He has so many unanswered questions. Everything he assumed about you was proven to be wrong, and even though he wanted to know more, he couldn't be so sure that Jiae could give him the best answer now. And it didn't seem like you want to continue this conversation.

"For what's worth, Jisung, I think you'll be fine," you stood up, one hand holding onto the food tray while the other reached out to give his hair a slight ruffle casually, "Good luck to you now."

You walked off without a further greeting. Just a small smile and a pat on the head, nice little things that completely contrasted your previous state and were enough to drive Jisung into the land of curiosity. He watched as you emptied out your tray and placed it on top of the trashcan, running towards the stairway and heading back up to the classroom.

And, Jisung could feel it himself, just the tiniest smirk appeared on his face.

* * *

You had half expected Jisung to light up your life a little, even though bringing an extra element into your life wouldn't be that hard of a task to do, considering how uneventful your life was. Anyone with a remotely loud voice and concerning ideas would probably be able to give you a good enough conversation to remember.

If you are willing to talk to them, that is.

And Jisung. Han freaking Jisung. Surely, he still has no knowledge of your soulmate bound to him, but somehow, subconsciously, ever since you found him, he had been bugging you everywhere at any time. Just when you thought he would be forgetting about your existence, or at least gain a lack of interest, within a few weeks.

He was there during lunch when you were eating alone, during recess when you sat in your classroom with your head supposedly buried deep in your arms, during joint PE class when you were sitting on the sideline as you watched other students play a foul game of basketball—you let out a defeated breathe when you realized just how much time he had spent rambling next to you for the past weeks, trying to spark up an on-going conversation long enough to last for at least a minute.

Spoiler alert: he had not been successful, yet.

You have completely underestimated his stubbornness. At this point, you were fairly convinced that no amount of one worded answers or witty eye rolls would be able to drag him away from you, and just like the first time Jisung came into your life, you weren't sure if you felt more glad about that or more annoyed.

Flipping a page of the textbook you borrowed from the library, you calmly scribbled down some important notes as you tried to cultivate a concept idea sensible enough for you to understand because, well, the textbook appears to be saying something different than what your teacher was teaching you in class.

A quick dump of a black-colored schoolbag startled you, your pencil scrapping a big line across the lined paper as you leaned away with a hitch of breath in your throat. You closed your eyes and sucked down a lump of frustration upon the familiar sight of the cartoon squirrel keychain.

"You again," you mumbled as you grabbed your eraser from your pencil case and started to, calmly, clean up to mess you made on your notes.

"Yes indeed, me again," Jisung plopped down on the chair next to you.

A smile was evident on his face, both from being able to find you amongst all the other places near the school and also from being able to annoy the living daylight out of you, which was never his intention, but it was the smallest reaction he could get out of you and to him, that was a huge step.

"Do you want to know what happened in math class today?"

You didn't turn to him, afraid that looking at his excited state would fuel your desire to discover everything about him and talk to him like normal friends, or just normal soulmates, do. And despite knowing that Jisung would continue on even after you've rejected his offer to share his school day, you voiced it out to convince yourself that you didn't care.

"No."

Jisung grinned, "Okay, so the bell rang after third period and our class was super loud after the last teacher left the classroom, yeah? Our class president–"

"Jisung, why are you doing this?" You cut him off quickly, turning over to look at his bewildered expression.

A guilted feeling coursed through your veins suddenly, feeling bad for him that he chose to put up with your almost bratty attitude and the idea that you probably hate him a lot, all because of a reason you had selfishly chosen to keep secret.

"I already told you I can't help you out with the prom proposal." Your voice was softer this time.

"I'm not here for the prom proposal," Jisung retorted, his eyes narrowed innocently, "I just wanted to be friends with you."

You pursed your lips together and nodded. That would surely make your plan backfire, with a boy as clingy and touchy as Jisung. Who knew one day he simply felt like playing around with the sleeve of your sweatshirt and bam! The secret goes flying out to the public and you are going to be humiliated every step of the way, you are going to be reminded of how undeserving of the spot you are.

"Okay, fine. We're friends. Yay!"

"You're not being sincere."

"What do you want me to do, Jisung? Seriously. You find me at the most inconvenient time and you ramble on and on about your problems, I don't have–" You clamped your mouth shut as Jisung leaned back against his chair, tearing his eyes away from yours for the first time since he started talking to you. "The energy. I'm just–I'm sorry, I'm really tired."

Jisung didn't speak for a moment and your heart dropped at the rare silence. Assuming that he had finally given up on your negatively filled mind, you exhaled and started to collect your belongings, stuffing your stationaries inside your pencil case and closing up the textbook.

"Wait, where are you going?" Jisung asked after noticing your rapid movement.

"Home," you replied, zipping up your schoolbag and flinging it across your shoulder.

"Wha–hold on, wait for me," Jisung hissed as he grabbed his schoolbag quickly and followed you into the aisles, his eyes never once leaving your figure.

Standing in between the narrow space, Jisung trailed closely behind, trying to find an opportunity to speak up while your legs moved quickly from one hall to another, finding the textbook's original place.

When you finally slipped the book in between the perfect gap with other identical textbooks, Jisung breathed out a sigh and started, "It's okay. I get it, you're tired. You really don't have to apologize for it. But I...uh, I really just want to chat with you."

You laughed silently, "Do you really think we can be good friends because I don't think so."

Jisung furrowed his eyebrows, following you out the library, "Why not?"

"Does it look like I fit in with your group of friends? No, Jisung, look at me," you stopped, gesturing towards yourself, "Like, really look at me. You, popular kids. Me," you grumbled a little, "I don't know but that's beside the point. We can't be friends because of those stupid fucking labels, okay?"

You waited for Jisung's response, but all he did was stare at you with questioning eyes. He heard you, clearly, and he really looked at you for the first time. He was taking in everything with consideration, his eyes boring holes at your features and sending shivers down your spine with their intensity.

"What are you doing, Jisung?" You asked in defeat.

"Looking at you. Like, really looking at you," Jisung replied quickly, "See, what I don't get is why you asked me to do that because, according to my research for the last minutes, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you aside from the fact that you've been really mean to me for the past weeks."

You clicked your tongue, wanting to laugh but also feeling irritated. Jisung just subtly called you out on your bullshit and you accepted that. It was true, and you shouldn't expect Jisung to endure that kind of attitude when he had been nothing but nice to you.

"I'm sorry," you muttered after a sigh, avoiding eye contact with him.

"I forgive you," Jisung smiled softly, "And (Name), if you hate the labels so much, why are you still following it? You aren't doing much protesting if all you do is push me away."

You grumbled, a sense of unfairness sparking deep within you. "People like you don't have to worry about doing anything. You've never been the kid who gets pushed over in the cafeteria or the girl who got bet on," you retorted, "So you can shove that."

"Hey, I–" Jisung shut his mouth quickly, a bit of concern flashing before his eyes.

It was your turn to call him out indirectly. You were right. He was never the public plaything, the cafeteria humiliation, nor did he ever attempt to stop those weekly events from happening. Asking you to simply ignore the labels when he had been sitting on top of the social chain since forever was not the most considerable thing to say.

"Who did those to you?" He asked instead, choosing to carefully approach you, to take baby steps towards the gate of your heart.

Your shoulders slacked visibly as you spun on your heels, "As if you care."

Jisung followed you, "I didn't before, but I do now."

"You care now because you need my help with Jiae. I don't need that kind of pity."

Jisung let out a groan of frustration, one that was loud enough to make you halt to a stop. Oh, he's really angry this time.

"I'm only going to say this one last time, I am not talking to you because I need your help. You intrigued me, I don't know how or why but you did, so now I want to be your friend," Jisung fumbled around with his hands, wanting to grab yours to make himself seem more sincere but also not being sure if you would have liked that.

Awkwardly, he placed his hands in front of his chest, his fingers outstretched. And his voice was quieter as he confessed, "I just want to be your friend. That's it."

You gulped hardly, giving yourself some time to think.

You couldn't deal with the risk of letting him know and you didn't have the energy to hide your mark constantly. But your weak heart couldn't handle seeing Jisung look as defeated and sulky as he did the moment you had snapped, quietly but sharply, at him back in the library. And the same expression would most likely appear again if you reject him, for the millionth times this week.

Jisung was your soulmate, after all, and as pessimistic of a person as you were, you do care and you do, love him. So you were willing to go through a little more trouble to hide your mark if befriending him would make him happy.

"I'm heading to the Taiwanese shop," you informed as you started to walk again.

"Huh? I thought you're going home?"

"I lied, my mom isn't home to make dinner today so I'm eating outside," you replied, stopping on your tracks and turning to look behind your shoulder, at Jisung who was still grounded on his spot. You beckoned him over, "Are you tagging along or not?"

Jisung grabbed a hold of the straps of his schoolbag as a smile lit up on his face. He rushed over to you quickly, not wanting to waste another minute. Thank god his continued with his messy plan of getting your to talk, he was about to give up there when you started to walk away.

Just a little spoiler alert, if you couldn't already tell from the grin on his face and the way he skips his steps, Jisung was super excited about this blossoming friendship.

* * *

After ordering food at the cashier place, you two went to find a small seat in the middle and settled down there. Jisung had decided to give his parents a call about not being able to make it back home for dinner despite your consistent protest that melted away when Jisung let out a playful growl your way to display his sense of dismay.

Jisung rubbed his hands together as he placed them on the wooden table and you immediately raised an eyebrow at him. Crossing your legs under the table, you crossed your arms and leaned back against the cushioned chair, "You do want my help with the prom proposal, don't you."

Jisung smiled up at you sheepishly, "I know you don't want to talk about it so it's okay. I'll just find someone else for help."

You shrugged, "No, it's fine. It's probably better for you to talk to me about something you need than having me to maintain a casual conversation about our day. I might actually have something to say for that matter."

He squinted his eyes a little at you. It was probably because you have never spoken to him much about what really goes on inside your head that you appeared completely unpredictable to him. Jisung wasn't saying that he was ever good at observing people's behavior and understanding their feelings. He was always more of a sympathizing and comforting person than analyzing and accessing.

But with you, he could not tell anything, at all. Your expression betrays your thoughts, your tone betrays your words. You mix sharp wit with a mellow voice and joy with exhaustion. The last second you were all up his face about him only caring about his problems but now you were offering to help him with it.

Yet somehow, as confusing and as rude as you had been to him, he couldn't feel an ounce of hatred towards you, nor did he ever felt like he was lost in this weird relationship. Logically, he should have been, but deep inside his chest something kept tugging him back to you.

Jisung really thought you've piqued his interest on the first day but somehow the line on the chart kept going up.

"Are you sure?" Jisung asked.

You hummed, "Yeah. People usually find me to ask for something so it'll really be more comfortable for me if you ask me to do something for you too."

"That doesn't sound very nice," Jisung frowned, sitting back up as he looked at you with saddening eyes.

"It doesn't, but you get used to it when it keeps happening," you waved.

Jisung pouted, "Still, everyone deserves someone who wants to be with them simply because they want to."

You laughed, a sardonic laugh. The idea was foreign to you because of, well, you. You weren't attractive enough for people to be interested, and you weren't decent enough for those who did to stay. The way you carry yourself wasn't for everyone and you were yet to find the one who was compatible enough to stay.

Jisung didn't count, you've been having your guard up every time he's near.

"You've lived a nice life, Jisung," you smiled gladly. A very rare, genuine smile that accompanied with your shoulders slacking from tension and your alerted eyes softening, a sight that indicated to Jisung the tearing down of your mental walls.

A second later you built it back up again. Your back arched and your lips pursed. The heartfelt expression changing far too fast for Jisung, he didn't even have the time to store the image in his brain.

"I'll start off saying I can't guarantee you your success rate because, as I have told you, Jiae and I aren't friends," you said, "We're really not that close, I have no idea why she still says we're good friends. The last time we hung out was during middle school and that's it."

Jisung's confused expression gave you an idea that he didn't really believe you, so you placed your palm on the wooden table and leaned in to assert more confirmation, "We aren't. Have you ever seen me hang out with her before?"

"Uh..." Jisung opened his mouth.

"No, Jisung! You're thinking, and this question shouldn't involve any thinking," you snapped your fingers in front of his face, "Because the fact is right in front of you. The answer is no, you haven't."

Jisung pursed his lips together, taken back by your fast movements. "Okay, fine," he said, "Then help me out as a friend. Tell me what she wants, give me your standard."

You snorted, "Does it look like I have a standard to base upon?"

Jisung whined, "Oh you know! Any celebrities? Fictional characters? Songs?"

You let out another snort as you shook your head comically, "Of course, because you can totally be on Jung Joonhyung's level."

"Jung Joonhyung? Like from the weightlifting drama?"

You nodded almost dreamily, causing Jisung to break into small laughter.

"Well then, Joonhyun it is," Jisung declared.

"You're not serious, are you? Their standards are too high for us mere high school kids. Those characters are the dream, Jisung, they aren't supposed to exist!" You laughed, "They are fictional for a reason."

"Hey, if my partner wants everything on the list of boyfriend goals then you bet I am giving them everything on the list," Jisung said determinedly.

You rolled your eyes a little but a smile played on your lips. The way Jisung furiously wanted to give his loved one everything they want was sending tingles down your skin. Whoever gets to end up with him in the future would receive such an immense amount of love and patience that you could almost feel your envy creeping up.

It was mostly the bitter sadness that the person could have been you if you weren't so much... you and more... someone else.

"I don't think your partner would ask you to do that, I think you're already pretty good," you nodded.

Jisung's eyes widened at the unpredicted compliment, "You think so?"

You nodded in confirmation and he laughed shyly, scratching the back of his head.

"Thanks, no one's ever told me that before."

"Bullshit, Jisung, someone must have told you that you are good enough before," you exclaimed.

"Well, I have been complimented before, but telling me I'm a nice guy doesn't give me any reassurance," he mumbled.

"What about the girls? They like you, you know they like you," you brows were heavily furrowed now, unable to believe in Jisung's self-doubt.

"Well, they mostly just giggle around me and agree with everything I say. I can't really tell if they find me interesting or just attractive sometimes."

You licked your lower lip, trying to find a retort but you could see where Jisung was coming from and how that could be the case.

"Alright, so I guess I don't have it all in the self-hate department," you leaned back on your chair and let the waitress served you both the food, pursing your lips into a grim line in the process.

"That doesn't sound very nice," you mumbled after the waitress left.

Jisung eyed you once, a playful smirk gracing his lips at the familiar phrase. He shrugged as he stuck the straw into his drink, "It's fine, you get used to it."

You grumbled as you did the same, taking a sip of your fruit tea with a look of dissatisfaction, "Still. Ugh, I hate it when your surface overshadows what's good about your insides!"

Jisung suppressed a laugh. You two were awfully alike yet drastically different, he couldn't even begin to understand how that makes sense. There was simply an element, a feeling, within you that he found resonated with himself, even though you two had been on two sides of the world.

Jisung could feel it in his chest somehow, and he loved it.

* * *

After spending some quality time with Jisung for a whole week, every day after school, each one consisting of you denying his offer to eat dinner with you since you parents work late night and him arguing that teenagers should always eat with someone to decrease loneliness, it was rather weird for you to be in such a quiet environment during Saturday lunch.

Jisung was always there to yell at your face about his day after you two finished dinner at a random restaurant that you had to force him to pick, usually with a game of rock-paper-scissors, after an end the never-ending process of deciding where to eat.

Therefore, now that you had finished lunch at home alone, the quiet process of cleaning up after yourself was strangely deafening. You never had a problem with it before but you supposed you would now because Jisung's terrific company had been etched in your brain that being without him kind of made the atmosphere duller, even with the television on as background noise.

After covering the unfinished dish with a plastic wrap, you picked the plate up just in time to hear the doorbell ring. Putting the plate down curiously, you hummed as you slowly glided your way over to the door, thinking it was perhaps just the delivery guy.

"Hello–" You eyes widened and your voice came to a sharp stop after you shamelessly swung the front door open, your arm propped up and your hand around the edge of the wooden frame.

"Hi, (Name)!" Jisung stood there, grinning at you with his chubby cheeks and bright teeth. You panicked for a moment. It had been hot inside the kitchen when you cooked lunch for yourself so you had changed into a short-sleeved shirt, and you knew very well your soul-mark was completely on display because of it.

All Jisung needed to do was turn his head a little and he would catch sight of it.

Quickly, you shoved your arm behind your back and smiled up at him. Jisung, who had caught on to the nervous smile on your face, tilted his head to the side as his cheerful grin dimmed down to a curious smirk.

"I saw your soul-mark there, why are you hiding it?" He asked funnily, walking into your home with his gaze focused on you. When you shrugged and shakily told him it was nothing, it only spiked his interest even more, so he pressed on.

"Oh come on, what does it say?" He asked, reaching out for your arm that you had hidden behind your back, "It can't be that embarrassing, can it?"

Jisung's fingers curled around your arm and you knew if he really wanted to yank it so he could see what the words said, he could and he would. With a speeding heart, you let out a strangled noise from the back of your throat and decided to turn around quickly, your hand flying up to slap against his eyes, which caught Jisung completely off guard, and backed him up to the nearest wall.

"Woah, woah! Okay, I won't look!" Jisung exclaimed defensively, letting go of you and holding his hand up in surrender. He could feel you press up to his torso as you asked him for confirmation, and Jisung wasn't sure if he was more afraid of your sudden exert of dominance or if he was more attracted (or turned on, just a little bit there) by the proximity you took a step to bestow upon you both.

"I promise," he confirmed and seconds later, he felt your hand slip away.

You rubbed your arm shyly, pressing it close to your side, "What are you doing here?"

Jisung's shoulders hunched as he looked around your house, "Nothing much. I just wanted to spend some time with you."

"Why, were you bored being home alone?" You asked as you turned back to the dining table and started to take the plates back into the kitchen, simply dropping them on the counter so you could deal with them later.

"Uh, yes, that is correct," Jisung raised a finger, "But also because I want to spend some time with you."

Your eyes squinted at the emphasis of his tone, eyeing him with contemplation as you walked out of the kitchen slowly. You hummed, "Is this about what I said before, about people asking me for a favor every time they find me?"

Jisung blinked at you. You were correct. That thought had been bugging him day and night. He just genuinely thought that people should never have to think in that kind of antagonistic mindset, especially not his friends, especially not you. But you didn't have to know that.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jisung replied nonchalantly, a pout evident on his face.

You let out a faint laugh as you shook your head, beckoning him to follow you before leading him to your room. Jisung was a little hesitant as he took the first step, but soon he was drowned in the cozy fragrance of your room and he basked in the sight of what was the embodiment of you.

"I knew there would be a pile of clothes in your room, I knew it!" Jisung pointed at the laundry basket sitting at the corner, next to your closet. Not quite what he was expecting but close enough.

"I knew there would be a lot of books in your room, ha!" Jisung turned and pointed at the bookshelf of textbooks and non-fiction books stacked on two columns of your shelf. The rest were simply albums of your favorite band or a circle of plushies you somehow managed to stuff in one small rectangular space.

Jisung frowned and you laughed at his defeated state. He went forward and slumped down on the floor, leaning his back against the edge of your bed, while you sat on your rolling chair after turning on the air-conditioner.

"So, what are you doing here again?" You asked, turning to look at him.

Jisung pulled a face at your mocking tone, "To steal a glance at your soul-mark, duh."

You pursed your lips together and threw your eraser at him. Jisung giggled as he held up his arm to block his face, your reaction once again kick-starting his interest. Why were you so defensive?

"I don't want to talk about it," you said, as if reading his mind.

"Why, what happened?"

You hopelessly glared at Jisung, unsure if he was simply dumb at catching onto hints or if his curiosity was really getting the best of his noisiness. You looked away, annoyed but also overwhelmed. Jisung was offering you a chance to talk about your feelings, it would be weird if you don't take it considering how much emotions you bottle up, even if the topic was about you and him.

You just got to be careful.

You sighed, giving in to his semi-pleading eyes, "He wouldn't love me. We're too different."

Jisung raised an eyebrow, "You are so sure he's a he–oh my god, you already found him."

You just got to be a little bit more careful, damn it, you had one job.

Jisung sat up on his knees, looking at you with wide and excited eyes before he let out a disappointed groan, snapping his fingers aggressively, "Oh my god! Who the hell is he? I will go talk to him!"

"No one too important," you replied timidly, "It's okay."

Jisung slumped down onto his legs. He stared at you with disbelief as he ran a hand through his hair, "What are you talking about, he's your soulmate! He's supposed to love you forever!"

"First of all, you said it yourself, he's my soulmate. I don't know why you're so worked up over this," you pointed out, "Second of all, you have a very fantasied perception of soulmates, don't you?"

He looked at you with challenging eyes, his voice patient as he spoke, "How? Elaborate."

You shrugged, "I don't know? Soulmates are just... a link, you don't have to love them if you don't want to. The universe can't force you to do what you don't want to."

"Ah, but it's soulmates, (Name)!" Jisung retorted quickly and frustratingly. He inched forward slowly, moving over to you by the rolling chair and unconsciously placed his hand on your knee to stop your spinning. "They have a unique link together! They are supposed to be a guarantee that someone out there is willing to accept you no matter what so you don't have to worry too much about your current problems! They're supposed to be a promise that lasts forever!"

You frowned, not because Jisung didn't make an ideal point but because you felt guilty again, that you had ever doubted him in regards to his willingness to embrace his soulmate despite any kinds of circumstances, that you would ever even think about Jisung purposefully pushing you away if he ever knew about the truth between you and him.

"I just, I can't imagine not loving my soulmate. If I ever find them, that is," Jisung confessed, looking away for a moment to collect himself. "I really want to meet them."

You pursed your lips together, desperately wanting to tell him the truth but your mind was telling you to keep lying since you were already so far into it. Telling him now would only cause him anger, and you were scared of that thoughts despite Jisung just then telling you that he would, indefinitely, be in love with his soulmate.

Finally letting your eyes land on him, you tilted your head to the side as you noticed a small mark that appeared underneath his bangs. You leaned in, reaching out to part his hair gently and finally seeing the small bandaid that was on his forehead.

Jisung blushed a little, "Oh that. Felix banged his head on the table this morning."

"Oh? So what now, he secretly has superpowers and he transferred his injuries to you?"

"No," Jisung waved his hand dismissively, "I thought it was funny so I was laughing at him until I moved too much and whacked my head on the metal pole next to me."

Your jaw dropped in amusement as a few laughs trickled off your lips. How dumb and adorable, there was literally nobody else who could make you think and feel this way. Rubbing his cheeks with your thumbs, your laughter magnified a little at his pout.

"Aww no, you poor thing," you said, leaning down and subconsciously (perhaps a soulmate thing) planted a peck on the spot.

It took both of you a few seconds to realize what you had done. And by then, you were already a blushing mess while Jisung simply stared on with a glazed look on his face. That was such an endearing thing to do and Jisung's heart was slowly melting into something even bigger. He wasn't sure where this attraction was coming from but it was there, and he didn't mind it one bit.

"I-uh... hey, you want to know about my college application process?" You asked, attempting to change the subject.

Jisung snapped out of his thoughts and his eyes brightened up, back to its usual light. He nodded, cleaning his throat casually, "Yeah, tell me about it!"

"Actually, I applied early for Seoul University, if you don't know," you said, "And they came back with a letter saying I got into the interview round. If I pass the interview, I'll be accepted, basically."

Jisung widened his eyes, "Really? Oh, that's great! It is a great university!"

You smiled faintly, "Yeah. So I started practicing with my mom and she wrote down some sample questions to me, just asking if you want to look it over? The more opinion, the better, I think."

Jisung extended his hand proudly and received the pieces of paper with multiple corrections on them. You pursed your lips nervously as you waited in silence for him to finish his reading, watching as his mouth moved across each word and his head nodded in understanding.

You parted your lips a fraction and exhaled deeply. Looking at him from such a close distance never helped with your weak and loving heart. Each time you just wanted to hold Jisung close and love him broadly, without a trace of doubt that was obviously still lingering at the back of your head.

"Hmm, I think most of them are good answers, except for this one," Jisung pointed at the question and flipped the paper to let you see.

You frowned, "What's wrong with that one?"

"It's a bit... it's asking for what you want to do in the future, I'm guessing it kind of mix in with the concern about students choosing a career path? You are going to tell the proctor you don't know?" Jisung said, looking at you through his fallen bangs.

"I'm going to be honest there, Jisung, I don't have anything. I don't know what I want to do, at all," you said.

"No one is ever honest in an interview," Jisung pointed the tip of the pen at you

You shrugged, "I guess? I don't know. I'll take any job that is offered to me."

"What, no. Come on, (Name), you must have a dream job."

Your lips arched downward, "I really don't. I just want to earn money."

When Jisung frowned at you, you could only roll your eyes. "Don't look at me like that, do you have a dream job?" You asked, almost accusingly.

Jisung nodded surely, "I want to be a producer."

You hummed, "Like the idol ones or the ones working behind the scenes."

Either way, he would most likely be qualified enough. His music was great, so you have heard in school talent shows, and he was also a boy charming enough to make people do just about whatever he wants them to do. Idol wouldn't be a hard goal, nor would a producer.

Jisung could be both.

"Either one is fine. I don't have to be in a company necessarily. I can get big on doing covers too," Jisung nodded.

You laughed, "Don't forget me when you get famous then. But if you need anything, like an insightful critique on your latest album, do find me. If a norm like me likes it, I'm sure a majority of people will like it too."

Jisung clicked his tongue, "I'm not going to find you just because I need you to do something for me."

"Uh, have you met me before?"

"Yes, and I hereby announce that I, Han Jisung, adores your presence," Jisung playfully said, dipping his head into a small bow.

You giggled down at him as you pressed your hand to his head, pushing him away from you, "You're so dumb."

"Oh, and you love me for it," Jisung grinned.

You sighed inwardly. You do, you really do.

There was a moment of silence that you two shared. You hadn't even realized you two were comfortable enough with each other enough that a long silence wouldn't result in you wanting to bury your head in your arms and never see the light of day again. And you weren't sure if letting Jisung this far in your life was a good sign or not.

"You're really not going to show me your soul mark? I'll kick his ass for you."

"Oh, I know what your debut album can be called: Jisung really can't mind his goddamn business," you said, and Jisung only frowned, childishly and adorably.

Oh, it would certainly be harder on your part, but it would be worth it.

* * *

The admission interview took place in the university, a little bit after lunchtime ended so students could have time to ask their teachers for the day's school work before leaving. Well, there are students who choose to not attend school the day, but you weren't one of them.

Your palms were sweaty as you stood in front of the cafeteria door, debating whether or not you should walk in and look for Jisung. You had told him you wouldn't be having lunch today since you wanted to practice and prepare for the interview on your own and urged him to go spend lunchtime with his friends, as he always does.

But lo and behold, you started to panic the more you look at your answer notes, and the more you panic, the more you stutter and mess up your answers. By then, thousands of worst-case scenarios had already been through your head, further bringing your self-esteem down to a negative.

And the only person you thought would be able to calm you down was none other than Han Jisung.

Without yourself knowing, your legs had already gotten you to the table Jisung was seated. His friends ceased to chat with each other when you arrived, standing by the table with an unreadable look on your face. It took a brief glance for Jisung to see the worried gleams behind your eyes and his brows furrowed.

As he opened his mouth, another voice spoke, beating him to talking first. Jiae waved her hand at you, a friendly smile on her face, "Hey, (Name)! You are here at just the right time, we were just talking about something interesting!"

You removed your eyes from Jisung and turned to look at the unfamiliar girl. You tilted your head to the side, "What?"

Jiae smiled at you, "Can you get me and my friends some pudding, we forgot to get them when we were in line to get our food. Gossip sounds better with good food!"

You blinked a little and turned to look at the crowd of people still waiting in line for the trays and ordering their food. Your brows furrowed a little in dismay, "But the shop is right there."

"I know, you're such a sweetheart!" Jiae replied, clasping her hands together and smiling in a way that it was hard for you to decline, in a way that you knew you couldn't reject.

For a moment, you turned to Jisung. You were about to explode from nervousness and anxiety, waiting in a long line to buy the school pudding for a bunch of people could not even begin to top your list of worries. Your pleading eyes turned to Jisung since he was the only one who would most likely get you out of this situation than anyone else sitting around the table here.

Jisung tensed up a little as if all his friends' eyes were on him and they were all judging his next move. He licked his lower lip, watching your fingers fumble with each other and your eyes gleaming fearful tears. Your shoulder eased up when your eyes met his and your expression relaxed—all the little indications that Jisung picked up along the way, telling him that you had torn your mental walls down for the moment.

And he didn't move. How bold of him to accuse you of abiding by the labels when he was, too, scared of the destruction of it.

You gave him a few seconds before you breathed out a hopeless sigh, realizing he had chosen all his friends over you, and you supposed that was normal for him to do. Jisung felt a harsh tug at his chest, a sharp pain that beat along with his heart, when he saw the disappointment you displayed on your face. Not the playful, mocking kind that you've always shown him, but the genuine, real kind.

A true heartbreak, a faint moment of hatred that you held for him flashing before your eyes before you turned around and walked away.

You let your guard down to ask for him, and he ignored you.

Jisung clenched his fist together and he quickly stood up, leaving his seat to look for you at the end of the line. When he approached you, you were smiling a little, and Jisung found his knees weakening painfully at your forced smile.

"Hey, Jisung," you said, patting his shoulder gently, "I'm sorry, were you going to ask Jiae to prom? Did I ruin your chance?"

Jisung blinked in thoughts. Oh, he almost forgot about his want to ask Jiae out to senior prom. She hadn't really been occupying his mind lately and honestly, Jisung wasn't sure if he even wanted to go to prom with her anymore.

"No, you didn't. You didn't," he shook his head as he followed you down the line, "Did you...uh... did you need something? Are you okay?"

You let out a weak laugh, "Me? Of course, I am. I don't even know why I was there in the first place. I guess I practiced too much, my mind is getting a little fuzzy now."

Jisung pursed his lips together, the ache in his heart increasing with every lie you told, "Really? Because I swear you were about to cry back there."

"What? I'm not. You're seeing things," you waved him off, "You're probably just mad because I ruined your bonding time with your friends. I'm sorry, I won't do that again–"

"You didn't, okay, now are you sure you're okay?"

"Oh, I'm splendid. Just a bit sad that I ruined your lunch–"

Jisung sighed, "You didn't ruin anything, can you stop saying that? Jiae was just talking about–"

You cut him off, again, as you turned away to grab a couple of puddings and throwing them on the tray in a passive-aggressive way, "Oh no, did I cut her off? I'm so sorry, I didn't know she was telling you guys something. I promise I won't–"

"Jesus, can you just shut up and listen to me!" You gasped when Jisung clapped his hands on each side of your shoulder and turned you around to face him. His loud voice bounced off the walls of the cafeteria and you were pretty sure everyone had quieted down to look at you two now.

You stared at him, leaning back to keep a good distance as Jisung heaved an exhausted sigh. He raised his head again after he collected himself, "Just talk to me, please."

You pursed your lips together and nodded, "Okay."

"Are you paying for the pudding or not?"

You pulled Jisung's hands off you and turned to the cashier, pulling out your wallet from your pocket and starting to dig through it for cash. Fingers curled around your wrist then and Jisung pulled you away from the cashier. You looked up at him with confusion but he only shook his head.

Turning his head around, he shouted to his table, "Jiae! You didn't give (Name) any money!"

"(Name), can you pay for us?" A  loud voice yelled back.

"I was going to," you rolled your eyes, peeling your hand away from Jisung's grip. Seeing his dissatisfied expression, you glared at him, "Don't make this complicated."

Jisung grumbled. He was thinking perhaps he could make it up to you but the plan didn't work, sadly.

When you finished paying, Jisung scooped up the pudding and fast-walked his way back to his table, dumping all the desert on the surface and startling everyone.

"Thank you, (Name). I'll pay you back."

You turned to Minho and simply shrugged, unsure how to respond to him. Jisung, who was waiting at the side, tugged at your sleeve and pulled you out of the cafeteria before any of his friends got the chance to speak and delay his time to talk to you.

You two stopped by the lockers and Jisung turned to look at you, giving you his utmost attention, "Okay. Now can you tell me what's wrong?"

You tapped your feet abasing the floor and breathed out shakily, the anxiety coming back to you at the mention of the interview. The previous sadness you've had completely replaced. "I'm scared, Jisung," you informed, "My hands are freaking shaking right now, I don't know what to do."

Jisung softened immediately, reaching out to grab a hold of your hands and attempting to stop the trembling, "Oh no, baby, you really don't have to be."

Your jaw dropped a fraction at the endearment. For a specific reason, your heart sped up even more now. It wasn't good for your mind but you thought it was better to have it speeding up due to a lovestruck feeling than the plain terror of embracing yourself in front of the examiner.

Jisung stuck his tongue to his inner cheek, unable to believe what had just slipped past his mouth. It was so casual and so willing, he knew for a fact he had wanted to call you that for a long time already. But why? Was it because you two were close friends or was it something else? Something more?

Was it the same reason why his heart had hurt so bad just a few minutes ago when he thought you hated him.

 _Sigh_... you two had let each other in close enough to hurt yourself already,  you two have no idea.

As you two were busy spending your time being confused and dazed, time ran past and the bell rang. Lunch was over, you have to pack up and leave for the university now. You gasped a little before a scared groan escaped your lips. Jisung cursed under his breath before he made a daring move of cupping your cheeks, squishing them gently, all the while people rushed out of the cafeteria door.

"We rehearsed it before, okay? I asked you the stupidest alternative questions and I think you did great. I read through your answers and it's great," he rambled on, "You're going to do great, (Name), I believe you!"

You nodded, pressing your hands to the back of his palm and feeling its warmth radiating.

Jisung grinned, moving closer to your face, "Remember you have to look at them in the eyes like this, this shows confidence and confidence is key!"

"Okay," you replied meekly, unable to speak when you could feel Jisung's breath on your skin.

Jisung wasn't doing so well himself either, going crazy on the inside when he pulled you close involuntarily and he was only masking his insanity with a calm, encouraging smile.

"You'll do great," he said again, nodding his head.

You repeated his movement before pulling away. As you left, Jisung felt a small tug at his hand, something akin to a string, and he could only wonder what that meant.

* * *

You patted down your school uniform as you left the entrance of the universe after politely bidding the receptionist goodbye. There was no way for you to tell whether you've done a great job or not. The proctor's expressions were politely reserved the entire time you were speaking to him and only a smile could be seen when the long process was finally over. Now it's just the gut-wrenching process of waiting for the acceptance letter.

You gently sighed to yourself, recalling the whole conversation you just had and overthinking your answers again and again. Your opinion of your performance jumping from a positive note to a negative one within seconds as you divided your answers into two categories: horrible and extremely horrible.

Brushing your uneasy hands together, you looked up from the ground and paused for a moment when you saw Jisung's face at the end of the gate, kicking his feet with his hands on his schoolbag strap.

He, too, caught sight of you, and he raised his arm up to wave at you. You tilted your head to the side and breathed out in relief. Picking up your pace, you rushed over to Jisung and threw yourself to his side when you were within reach.

"Oh god, I thought I was about to die," you hissed as you circled your arm through Jisung's, leaning close to his side for moral support.

Jisung laughed, letting you drag him out the gate, "It went that bad?"

"Probably? I don't know, the examiner's face was emotionless the whole time. It's like he thinks I'm stupid or something," you shuddered.

Just then, a bunch of deep chatting voices went past you two. A group of teachers, with wallets and car keys in their hands, walked past the two of you, presumably going out for a late lunch.

You froze when you saw your examiner, feeling the embarrassment creeping up from behind you. Jisung watched nonchalantly as they walked past before turning over to you, "They seem nice."

"That's because they aren't evaluating stupid people right now," you retorted quickly, rolling your eyes at your speed. If only you could think that quick on your feet when the time is needed.

Jisung hummed, tugging you to his side as he brought you along the road, "I'm pretty sure you did great. Have some faith in yourself, will you?"

You grumbled in dismay but nodded anyway. It wasn't really your kind of thinking way, to have better expectations for the future. You were usually more of a low expectation and zero disappointment kind of person, but Jisung's arrival had changed that tremendously. You started to have things to look forward to, be it the conversation you two would have or the playful fights that would descend on you both.

You had started to look forward to feeling more things, good emotions and bad emotions, while knowing that despite all the different and wondrous feelings you could feel, deep down in your heart, you would always have love as a base. Nothing would come before that, nothing would ever break that.

"Do you want to get a drink? My treat, for doing so well," Jisung offered.

"Oh yes, please," you let out a soft moan at the thought of a nice cup of sweet fruit tea.

Jisung tensed up a little beside you, his eyes widening at the mellow sound and the pleading words that had escaped your lips unknowingly. It was all too innocent, and his immediate desire to hear it again, a little louder, while your back pressed against any kind of surface and he hovered over you, were all too secretive and sinful.

He almost felt a bit shameful of himself for thinking so soon. But mostly he was just confused to why he would even think that in the first place. None of those thoughts ever came up when he spends time with his other attractive friends.

Yet you somehow managed to solicit a train of indecent thoughts within him, sending tingles down his skin and making his chest heave unevenly as his desire for that kind of intimate delicacy grew.

"Um," Jisung's voice was strained as he threw himself off his train of thoughts, "So we are heading over to Jiae's home for a sleepover, she invited you. Do you want to tag along?"

You let out a confused noise, "Really? That's sudden."

"I know," Jisung agreed, "But can you come along? I'd like it if you will."

You caved within seconds, as soon as Jisung said he wanted you there. It was so easy for him, he didn't even know. You hummed quietly, lightly pushing his sides, "Can we still get some tea first?"

"Of course," He laughed, "Where do you feel like?"

"Let's go to the Taiwanese shop again," you replied quickly, taking impatient steps forward.

Jisung laughed at your eagerness, his hand slowly sliding down until it met yours, and your finger loosely interlaced. It was timid but the act didn't lack tenderness. A bust of tranquility emerged in his veins, rushing through his body as you led him through the roads.

And, slowly and carefully, Jisung moved his fingers to completely interlock your fingers. You didn't seem to mind.

* * *

Spin the bottle is definitely a better game than truth or dare.

It was what you kept repeating in your head as you sat in a circle, being pulled over by Jiae to sit with the girls while Jisung and his friends sat across from you all, someone on the floor and some on the couch.

Spin the bottle is definitely a better game than truth or dare because truth or dare requires weird, unwilling actions and terrible lies that people have to spring up in a spur of the moment and to execute them convincing enough. Spin the bottle... well, the bottle might just never land on you, and if it did, so what? A kiss on the cheek will always suffice.

You should have thought this through. Why did you come? All you did the whole night was rub your arms and feel out of place. You had to finish dinner quickly and head over to hide in the kitchen, where you supposed something good happened since you met a new acquaintance (Minho, you met Minho. He came by you give you your pudding money back).

Laughter ensued after a round of Changbin awkwardly kissing Felix's cheek, even you couldn't help but breathe out a giggle or two at their over-exaggerated reaction. After calming down, Felix reached out to turn the water bottle, and it landed right on Minho, who did a small eye roll.

He got down from the couch and reached over to turn the water bottle. Your eyes focused on it intently, watching as it slowed down to a halt and realizing that the tip of the bottle had pointed itself directly at you.

You opened your mouth and attempted to scoot to the side, "Oh, I think it is pointing at you, Jiae."

"What? No," Felix leaned down to the level of the bottle, "It's on you, (Name)."

You blew some air out of your mouth, your eyes widening awkwardly. It wasn't that you didn't want it, it was just a kiss on the cheek anyway, but you didn't think you were close enough with them to make the act comfortable for everyone here.

Looking over at Jisung, you saw that he was suppressing a giggle, gesturing to his friend and whispering inside jokes that you probably wouldn't have understood. When you caught his eyes, you shuddered a little while he simply shrugged, hardening his gaze at you in a mischievous way.

Upon the silence, Jiae let out a short laugh at your side as she waved at Minho, "Hey, it's okay. You don't have to do it with them if you don't want to. We can let this one slide..." Her voice trailed off slowly when Minho raised his eyebrows funnily before he stood up, walking across the circle to your side and crouching down in front of you.

You glared at him questioningly, leaning back a little, "Are you serious?"

Minho laughed, his nose scrunching up playfully before he reached in to plant a soft pack on your right cheek, causing you to giggle in surprise. Your face was flushed red as you stared at your lap, having to purse your lips to prevent a shy giggle from bubbling up.

And Jisung's initial playfulness had gone away as soon as he saw your positive reaction. His bit his lower lip as he blinked, feeling the knot in his stomach tightening as you and Minho shared a friendly look.

He didn't think much of it before, simply being glad that you were able to get along with one of his friends well enough. But seeing your blushing face made him think that maybe you had liked Minho more than he thought you did.

Jisung clenched his jaw slightly as he looked away, letting this fresh feeling sink in.

"Jisung, spin the bottle!"

He snapped out of his thoughts and hesitantly reached out to turn the bottle. Surprisingly, the tip landed on you again, and he perked up to look at you. In his head, he had already marched over to you and pressed his lips up to yours, a dream he found himself having sometimes in his sleep.

A dream where you two were together, love clear and hearts inter winded, and he always wakes up blushing, recalling every moment of it as he stares at the ceiling until his mother comes knocking.

"(Name)! Can you change out the water bottle? It's been squeezed so much it doesn't even turn that well anymore," Jiae requested quickly when she noticed small movement from Jisung. She moved to the center and grabbed the plastic bottle, handing it to you, "You're such a love."

"You can just blow it back up, Jiae–" Felix clamped his mouth shut when the girl threw him a threatening smile.

You received the bottle reluctantly but nodded anyway as you stood up and walked out of the living room. Jisung watched your back with of disappointment and he turned his attention to Jiae, who sat back down with a satisfied expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, I almost made you kiss them," she said, "I mean, Minho was already nice enough to do the deed. You really didn't have to do that. Hey, we can cancel this round if you want–"

"Can you shut up?" Jisung pointed out, interrupting the girl.

Jiae looked startled, as did everyone else. Jisung had never been one to scold, he was always the mediator while the others step up. This headstrong side of him could only be brought out by you and no one else, and ever since that day in the cafeteria, there was not a chance Jisung would let that kind of disappointment flash before your eyes again.

"Why are you so mad, Jisung?"

"Because you're being rude. You have been rude to (Name), way before I met them and now that they're a friend of mine," Jisung said, "Stop asking them to do things for you. Buying puddings? Getting a water bottle? Do it yourself, Jiae, seriously."

She furrowed her eyebrows, a look of utter disbelief shown on her face as she let out a short laugh, "Why are you so worked up over this, Jisung. Let's not do this so we can have a peaceful relationship until prom day comes. I know you want to ask me out."

"I don't," Jisung replied curtly, "Not anymore."

There was a moment of painful silence. The boys shared a knowing glance with each other, acknowledging the fact that your presence alone might have just ruined the overall atmosphere of their friend circle, but their eyes were accepting as they turned to look at Jisung.

If Jisung cared about you this much to break out of his personal bubble, then they would do the same.

"Um, I'm not sure if it's okay but I got another type of water bottle..." You pursed your lips together after you entered the living room again to be welcomed by a dreadful quietness. Glancing over at Jisung questioningly, you decided to stand by the door and just wait it out.

Jiae scoffed and stood up, "Whatever, I'm heading to bed. You guys can have the guest room."

You inched to the other side as she and her friends scooted past you, leaving you standing there in bewilderment. Last time you checked, it only took you a minute to get a new water bottle, not half an hour. What happened?

"Nothing happened," Jisung replied without your need to ask.

You eyed him suspiciously, "Okay... I'm gonna head back home then."

"What? No, stay. We're all sleeping in the guest room," Jisung said, gesturing upstairs.

"Your friends–"

"We're fine with it, (Name)!"

You pursed your lips and shook your head, "I'll sleep in the living room. You go hang out with your friends, Jisung. This is a sleepover, go and have fun. Besides, it's the best chance for you to ask Jiae to prom right now."

Jisung opened his mouth to protest but you interrupted him by pushing his back and getting him out of the living room, "Don't make this more complicated than it has to be, okay? I'll stay here, I promise. You will see me in the morning."

Jisung pouted, looking at you as he took a few steps back. He stopped by the staircase, his hand holding onto the railing in hopes that you would change your mind last minute. 

"I'll be fine, I have the couch all to myself," you reassured, "Go have a nice girl talk."

You shut the door between the hallway and the living room and turned around to face the empty area. With a tired sigh, you moved over to your bag and got out your essentials, preparing to start your nighttime routine alone, as usual.

* * *

Jisung had woken up in the middle of the night. His groggy eyes adjusting to the dim light from outside before he stood up and carefully stepped over his friends who slept on the floor, heading out to the kitchen to get his well-deserved glass of water.

Opening the door to the living room, Jisung's eyes trailed from the dining table to the couch, and realization hit him that you had chosen to sleep outside alone the night. He tilted his head to the side, his sudden thirst for water disappearing as he instead approached you on the couch. He knelt down at the side, his arms flat against the soft surface while his chin laid on top.

The peaceful face of your was one of the things he loved the most about you. You were completely unguarded and unaware of just how lovely you really were. Reaching out to gently trace the back of his finger against your cheek, Jisung's eyes admired your features every step of the way before they landed on your arm.

The sleeve of your sweater was scooted up loosely around your wrist, threatening to reveal the soul-mark you had once desperately hidden from his sight. With curiosity getting the best of him, Jisung's hand tentatively moved over to grab a hold of the fabric and pulled it up your forearm.

He angled his head to look at the words better.

**Tell me baby you're the happiest when you're with me right**

Jisung sucked in a small breath, feeling a tightening of his chest when it hit him. He told you that, the first time he talked to you. He said those exact lines, he was the one. He is your soulmate.

He is yours.

Your eyes were opened when Jisung turned to look at your face. You had been awake ever since you felt the gentle movement on your cheek, but you were too late to have stopped him from reading your mark.

You trembled, expecting Jisung to show you a hint of anger, or at least something akin to frustration. But he only held your gaze in the softness of the moonlight and the breeze, and he said, "I'm your soulmate."

You nodded, your voice quiet, "Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think you'll love me."

Jisung sighed heartbrokenly. How could you still think that even after the soulmate talk you two have had? Wordlessly, Jisung reached out to your body as he leaned his torso over so his face could get close to yours. Your eyes were getting hazy at the proximity and you knew this was way out of your plan, but you couldn't do anything but wait there for him.

He took the initiative, mostly because he felt like if he didn't take the chance to kiss you right now, he would regret it later.

You closed your eyes as soon as you felt the soft surface of his lips touched yours. And the next few moments as Jisung longingly pressed himself up against you were pure ecstasy, euphoria blossoming in your chest and closing the gates to all your worries and doubts.

Your hands found their way to Jisung's neck, pulling him down to you as you sunk against the pillow at the back of your head. The background had dissolved into a shade of pure white, not that your eyes were open to see, but if you do open your eyes, you doubt your ability to see anything clearly.

It was only the two of you, sharing an intimate moment on the couch with the dim moonlight shining down at the end of your legs as if it was shyly glancing away from Jisung's wandering hands and your delighted expression.

Jisung was short of breath by the time his hands made their way from your hips to the curls of your hair, he hadn't even recognized it until he found himself laying his entire weight down on your body in exhaustion, feeling your heart beat in line with his as his chest was pressed flat against yours.

He wouldn't have known. Your lips were like oxygen and he couldn't tell if he was really breathing or not when he was kissing you. Jisung angled his face to take your bottom lip gently, pressing tight for a long moment before pulling away, resisting the temptation to dive in again when he saw you glazed eyes.

You two didn't speak. There wasn't a need to speak any words. Your actions had conveyed pretty much everything you needed to know about him, and him about you.

Refusing to leave, Jisung laid his head at your shoulder and he laid there with you, the warmth of your body giving him complete solace and Jisung found himself never wanting to leave this position.

He had known all along the feeling he held for you, and it took a little bit of push for him to finally bring it up to the light of realization. Jisung smiled a little at the thought of having a sacred bond between you and him, and he would be eternally amazed at how miraculous the link really was.

Despite not knowing the truth, the link had brought you two together anyway. It pulled him towards you, made him feel things he had never felt before. Jisung didn't need to know his soulmate to love them, and he knew that for a fact because he had fallen for you way before this magical night.

And Jisung was sure, he had been right before. He couldn't imagine never being in love with you.

* * *

The next morning was a little hard for you, on an emotional level. You kept thinking back to the night, to the kiss. Not only did you hate that you loved it, but you also hated that you felt mixed feelings about it, even though Jisung was so obviously in love with you.

But for what reason?

You had woken up earlier than everyone else and you slowly slipped out of the couch, leaving Jisung sound asleep. You moved quick, heading back to the living room and quickly packing up your things to leave with a small note stuck to the tea table.

But Jisung was a step ahead of you, his eyes big and round as he greeted you from the couch, his lips pursing into a loving smile. You melted, offering him a faint smile, "Hey, Jisung. I'm going to head back home really quick so I'll see you in school, okay?"

Jisung sat up with a pout, "Why? Stay with me here, please?"

"I can't, Jisung. What would your friends think if they see us cuddling like that," you asked.

"What are you saying? There is nothing wrong with that, we're soulmates," Jisung furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes widening in alert at your sudden change of heart. Carefully, he got off the couch, "(Name)..."

"Uh, I'm sorry for not telling you about that," you turned around, "So yeah, um, I'm going to go–"

"Wait," Jisung placed a hand on your shoulder, pulling you back. "What's wrong? Why are you being so weird all of a sudden?"

You played with your fingers, "Nothing, I've always been like this. You're you and I'm me."

Jisung heaved a soft sigh. There you go again. "You're scared of this relationship, aren't you? You're pushing me away again," he said, reaching down to hold your hand, "Don't do this, please."

"Jisung, I'm not pushing you away," you said, "We're still best friends–"

"Best friends? Just best friends?" Jisung questioned in disbelief, "As if yesterday night didn't happen at all."

You gulped at the thought of that. It had been going on rewind in your head the whole night, you weren't if you've gotten any sleep at all, really. Even now, as you looked at Jisung, you felt your gaze urging to gravitate towards his lips.

"It's a kiss... friends kiss each other. It's a bad thing but they do," you muttered.

Jisung narrowed his gaze. Were you really standing in front of him and lying to his face that you didn't feel anything, with your whole heart? He learned close to you, causing you to stumble back in startlement. Your eyes wandered to everywhere but his eyes, fearing the sparkles behind them will keep you from deceiving him.

"But it meant something, didn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess," you muttered again, "But you–"

"Why are you worried about me?"

"Because you don't love me, Jisung," you whispered, "You do because we're soulmates and it's just because of that."

That wasn't true. That was absolutely not true, but telling you that wouldn't suddenly change your point of view, and Jisung wasn't sure if there was anything he could say at the moment that could possibly convince you he was, indeed, wholeheartedly in love with you.

You licked your lip and pulled away from him, "I'll see you at school, okay?"

The softness of your voice pierced a hole in Jisung's heart, but he told himself to be patient for the moment. Time will come when he would know what to say that would surely make you change your mind, make you believe that someone could love you.

And when he finally crossed through your barrier and you finally let him all the way in, he could never let you go again.

For now, he nodded in response.

* * *

Things have changed. You two continued to hang out daily, after school, having dinner in a different restaurant every day and you guys still talked like normal days. But every once in a while, there would be this moment of dreadful silence that sends the back of your hair raising and you would have the clear your throat before starting another conversation.

You hated it, as much as you hate the prom proposal you were witnessing at the moment.

Standing at the corner of the cafeteria, where the entrance doors were, you deadpan eyes watched as everyone in the cafeteria halted to a stop to watch the scene unfold before their eyes. No one questioned when Jisung stepped up on the table with empty hands, it was just himself and his voice, all they knew was that they had expected this to happen any day now.

There was no banner, no flower, and you groaned in frustration at how Jisung was really going for the bare minimum despite your effort to help him with asking Jiae out to prom. Why did he even ask, anyway? Was it to show that he is getting over you quickly and you were right all along about Jisung feeling nothing towards you? Why were you feeling bitter about it when this was what you wanted?

Jiae playfully shoved her friends as they pushed her forward, making her stand close to the table. She looked up at Jisung expectantly, and Jisung... well, he was pretty out of it. It took a harsh shove from his Seungmin and a sharp glare that was thrown towards you to snap him out of his trance.

Jisung crouched down suddenly, facing his friends who rolled their eyes and clicked their tongue. He ruffled his hair, "Is it really necessary? We couldn't have just kept it low-key?"

"Look, (Name) is all the way over there. Either way, you're going to have to yell for them to hear you," Felix pointed out, nudging his head toward the direction you were in.

"Besides, Jiae was never that good of a person. This might slap some sense into her that she isn't the center of the world," Seungmin rolled his eyes.

Chan stepped up, leaning over to speak in Jisung's ear, "If you really want everything to return back to the way it is, with (Name), with your soulmate. You should do this."

Jisung exhaled deeply. He got this, he talked to friends about this and he prepared for this confession. Chan was right, he has to do it, for the both of you. Jisung nodded at Chan and stood back up on the table, causing the students to once again get railed up.

"I..." Jisung started, his voice echoing throughout the whole room. He looked over to the side, to where you were standing. When you flashed him a reluctant smile of encouragement, his heart clenched. He didn't look away as he spoke, "I'm sorry, I can't go with you, Jiae."

You gasped along with the rest of the student, your eyes widening in shock. Jisung was looking at you now, prompting everyone else to do the same, and all you could do was duck your head and quickly turn to leave the cafeteria.

Jisung caught up to you quickly, you could hear the door burst open harshly and rapid footsteps from behind. You spun around, glaring at him with red cheeks, "What the fuck was that? We had a plan!"

"No, you had a plan and I had a plan of my own," Jisung said quickly, marching up to you in the hallway. This was it, this was the moment for him to change everything. This has to work.

His voice turned soft as he halted to a stop, "(Name), I know you don't believe that I love you, but I do. I really do. You just don't want to believe it because you think we're different people, which again, makes you a hypocrite because you said it yourself that you hate labels–"

"Oh, what the hell do you know about me anyway?" You turned away.

Jisung scoffed, "Well, you don't know anything about how I feel either, do you? All you do is assume that my feelings for you are fake."

His voice sounded choked and it was reasonable since Jisung had bottled up a lot of emotions inside. The adoration he held for you gentle features, the love he felt for your calming soul, the interest he has about your life, your day, and your hobbies.

Jisung wasn't sticking to the script his friends had cultivated for him anymore, he was going to pour his heart out to you this time, completely.

"Look, maybe you're right. I can't read your mind, I don't know how you feel most of the time," he spoke, holding your hands in his, "But I know that you're lost, and you say you don't really know what you want to do even though you're hardworking and smart."

"And I know that you're denying my feelings because you don't think you're good enough for me, which frankly isn't a call for you to make. I choose what is best for me, and guess what? You are the best, I believe you are," he confessed, shrugging his shoulders and scrunching up his nose at how awfully structured his thoughts were.

"And fine, maybe I wouldn't have loved you if we weren't soulmates. But you are my soulmate, and I do love you now," Jisung's voice trailed off to a soft whisper as he leaned in close after looking into your eyes for confirmation. It was the dazed look that told him that he has got you already.

"There is nothing I can do about it, okay? So can you just, please, give us a chance?"

It took you a moment to process his long speech and when you did, you breathed out a laugh.

"Fucking hell, Jisung," you said, with a somewhat tearful voice, "Why do you have to be so fucking..." You leaned in to nudge the tip of his nose, and when he giggled, your heart finally felt fulfilled for once in the long week.

Jisung pressed a longing kiss to your lips, pulling away with eyes that spoke genuinity. You grinned, relief flushing over your chest upon the familiarity of his warmth he makes you feel. You've missed his silliness and his presence overall and you were glad you got to have him back so easily.

"I'm still not going to prom though," you pointed out.

"It's okay, we can stay home and drown in fairy lights and be cliche together."

"Yes, because falling in love as soulmates isn't already cliche enough, we have to take another step to make us the most internet aesthetic couple ever," you snorted with a slight eye roll while Jisung scrunched up his nose at the casual way you talked about you both.

Speaking of soulmates.

"You haven't given me an answer yet, (Name)."

"To what?"

Jisung pulled at your sleeve to reveal your soul-mark before he turned to look at you, a playful smirk on his face, "Tell me, baby, you're the happiest when you're with me, right?"

"Goodbye," you rolled your eyes at him, giving him a light shove before spinning on your heels and walking away.

Jisung giggled, catching up to you quickly. Judging by the way you smiled as he interlocked your hands, the answer was crystal clear without the need for words.

You were both very sure that you are, indeed, the happiest when you're with Han Jisung.


End file.
